Running On Empty

In recent weeks, our garage has started looking like a second-hand bike shop as we've bought three bikes for our two girls (to go alongside the comically small ones they already had. To be fair, the first of those turned out to be too big for Daughter the 1st, hence the purchase of 2 more, but it was too much of a bargain to pass up, so she'll get it when she grows a bit. Anyway, this has brought an unanticipated benefit for me, as it turns out that Daughter the 1st cycles at roughly the same speed that I jog; she's clearly no thrill-seeker. 😂 We've now twice been out for a ride/run together, but today's session was over an hour long . While there were moments in that when I was waiting for her to catch up and maybe a 20-second break when we initially stopped at 8K, that must be the longest 'continuous' run I've ever done. Part of today's circular route, but this photo was taken in winter, not today How did it feel? Totally fine up to around 7K, but

Wow. Well... that was a break. Two full weeks without a single run. 😮 Just about made it in time for the run director's welcome And straight back into it with a parkrun. It's maybe not that surprising then that the following text greeted me later that morning: 28:15 is one of my slowest ever parkrun times. And I was actually trying! Even as I was running, I tried to guess my time and felt it would be just over 28 minutes. That's not to say I wasn't disappointed when it was confirmed, mind. Last time out, I thought I'd gone slowly at Denton Dene only to find out I'd smashed my previous best there by over a minute. But not this time. 😞 Views looking upriver (along the parkrun route) and downriver past the weir So, other than the lack of practice, what might've contributed to the slow time? It's not my fastest course — a best of 26:02 — and while it has 3 short hills on it, it's no Chopwell Wood or Jesmond Dene. And there was probably about 15-20 sec

Well, thanks to my epic ineptitude, there was no orienteering this weekend after all; I'd completely forgotten that you need to book your place a week in advance . 🤦‍♂️ So much for bagging another bunch of British Orienteering ranking points at an event in which I felt more confident (urban). Hey ho. I would say "live and learn", but this isn't the first time I've forgotten about the need to book early, so I'm clearly not learning. 🤷‍♂️ On the upside, it meant I felt free to attend a parkrun for the third week on the trot. This is becoming something of a habit again. 😁 The course twice takes you past the Newcastle Blue Star ground, which is canny. This time, I chose to return to Denton Dene. I'd actually hoped to get to Blackhill in Consett, as the park would probably look quite nice in the sunshine, but I left it far too late to get ready in the morning, meaning a more local event was all I could manage. And even then, I cut it fine, arriving at the c

Finally, the weather's taken a turn for the better. On bank holiday Monday, the family went out for an 8km walk (that felt like double that) around Ponteland and we didn't even need coats on. Since then, it's just heated up further and yesterday I ended up doing a lunchtime run in 21°C sun. 🥵 I know, I'm getting really lazy with the pictures. This is courtesy of pixabay.com . Remembering how much I'd struggled with the paltry inclines on the South Shields parkrun, I figured I needed to stop doing flat routes, so I opted for an in-and-out of the Tyne Gorge. From Grey Street down to the quayside and over the Swing Bridge, climb back up to the Tyne Bridge and over that to return to the top of Dean Street. Once again back down to and over the Swing Bridge, then up the steps to the High Level Bridge and back over that to the top of Dean Street again. From there, it was down to the quayside one last time, along to the Millennium Bridge, over that , back along to the Swi

Fifty down... finally. 😅 Yep, while my 25th parkrun felt like a major cause for celebration, this milestone was quite a bit more subdued. Had I hit it while still on the streak that saw me attend 29 parkruns in a year, it would've felt a lot better, with a good chunk of momentum behind me, but today felt like I'd barely crawled over the line. That said, typing this a couple of days later, it does feel good to put it behind me. And to have run in two consecutive parkruns for the first time this year feels good too. It's almost a glimpse of how good it felt throughout the majority of last year, attending more often than not. I hope I can build on this. 💪 In the end, the choice of venue came down to me not wanting to disappoint myself; so Chopwell Wood was out of the question. I'd simply not done enough running, let alone hill work, in the weeks leading up to this to give myself a chance of feeling good about such a hilly run. But I did want to attend somewhere that wou

Another week where I've made it out for only one proper run instead of three (the walked parkrun doesn't count), but at least I'm still doing it. We'll overlook the fact I almost forgot to go for a run while sitting at my desk. 👀 As I did a few stretches in the car park before the start, I contemplated where I might run and came to the conclusion that at least the first kilometre in any direction from the office was going to feel grim. I hate routine in my runs. I even began to wonder whether this would be the thing that ultimately killed running for me. Would I give it up out of nothing but boredom? Anyway, I figured I'd just leave the building and decide my route at every corner or junction at which I arrived. 100% spontaneity in the midst of crushing familiarity. In the end, that took me along New Bridge Street and then through Shield field and up past Jesmond Metro. By that time, I'd decided most of the rest of the route based on how long I wanted to be